According to Sheila Humphrey's "The Nursing Mother's Herbal," arnica montana, can be readily taken internally as a homeopathic remedy (p. 182). Her plant appendix lists it as a toxic plant if taken internally (p. 275), but there, she is discussing ingestion of infusion oil, or plant parts -- not the teeny tiny amounts in a homeopathic pill. Arnica is one of my all-time favorites, and the surgeon recommending its homeopathic use before and after a procedure gets a real thumbs up in my book. I gave it to my 13 y.o. daughter who got four teeth pulled -- no swelling or bruising, although she did have pain that first day that required acetaminophen. A friend used it before her own major oral surgery -- at her two-day post-op check, the dentist marvelled at a mouth that looked like it had been on the mend for seven days, not two. I used to carry a tube of arnica gel in my diaper bag -- it is homeopathic in strength, but comes in a colorless, odorless gel. Perfect for all those toddler bumps and bruises. It will prevent or reduce a black eye, too. My 15 y.o. son got a horrid concussion -- raised a literal goose egg on his forehead within seconds. I made him rub arnica gel on it as we sped to the emergency room. He had a lump for several days, but never did get a bruise. (Frankly, I think he would have preferred the attention a black eye would have brought.) P.S. Do not apply arnica gel to broken or bleeding skin -- just those ouchy bumps. Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC Wyndmoor, PA, USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html